英语听力：自然百科 穿越银河系的旅行 Through Milky Way—2

 It's really a wonderful time to be an astronomer¹, especially in studies of Milk Way. We’re undergoing something for revolution. In fact, we can take you places. They're really quite remarkable².

 

We are about to embark³ on an amazing journey.

 

We'll take the Earth across thousands of light-years to distant parts of the galaxy⁴, totally different from our own. From these unfamiliar⁵ neighborhoods, our skies would appear very different. Skies with not just one, but a multitude of suns. Skies that reveal the power of stars billions of years ago. And what we might see in the future as our sun reaches the end of its life. 

 

With the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers⁶ are able to see billions of other galaxies⁷. Every one is different, but there is a pattern. 

 

“When we look out to study other galaxies in the universe, We see that there are basically two types of galaxies.” 

 

Astronomers call the first type--elliptical galaxies. They appear as large bowls of stars, and no matter what angle they’re viewed from, they always look rounded. Making up the other main class of galaxies, other spiral galaxies. Their stars are contained in arms that spiral/out from their centers. Viewed across their edges, they look a bit like Frisbees. So what type of galaxy is the Milky⁸ Way? The answer is written across the night/sky. 

 

”The Milky Way, we believe, is a spiral galaxy. So what we are really seeing when we look up at the night, at this band as we're seeing our place in the universe, we are part of a giant disc of stars. 

 

1 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

2 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

3 embark   

vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机

参考例句：

• He is about to embark on a new business venture.他就要开始新的商业冒险活动。
• Many people embark for Europe at New York harbor.许多人在纽约港乘船去欧洲。

4 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

5 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

6 astronomers   

n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Astronomers can accurately foretell the date,time,and length of future eclipses. 天文学家能精确地预告未来日食月食的日期、时刻和时长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings. 天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 galaxies   

星系( galaxy的名词复数 )； 银河系； 一群（杰出或著名的人物）

参考例句：

• Quasars are the highly energetic cores of distant galaxies. 类星体是遥远星系的极为活跃的核心体。
• We still don't know how many galaxies there are in the universe. 我们还不知道宇宙中有多少个星系。

8 milky   

adj.牛奶的，多奶的；乳白色的

参考例句：

• Alexander always has milky coffee at lunchtime.亚历山大总是在午餐时喝掺奶的咖啡。
• I like a hot milky drink at bedtime.我喜欢睡前喝杯热奶饮料。